There was no shortage of exciting games over the weekend as the 2019/20 VSBL Division 2 season got back in action. Williamstown lead the way in the firsts while the Wolves hold top spot in the reserves too, although they are tied with Moorabbin. Malvern is three games clear and undefeated in the thirds while the Fourths are set for a tight tussle between Williamstown and Malvern.
Division 2 Firsts - Round 17
Williamstown Wolves 8 v St Kilda Saints 4
The Wolves have once again proved they're one of the teams to beat, polishing off St Kilda in this matchup.
Jayde Thorne, Kevin Desmedt and Dennis Neal each took their turn pitching for Williamstown, combining for 13 strikeouts altogether. Justin Gourlay batted in four runs with a home run and a single, while Thorne knocked in two and Aaron Green and Desmedt both singled. Jason McDonald, Scott Meager, Bill Millar also had base hits. Hiroshi Narasaki singled and doubled to further boost Williamstown's busy offense.
The Wolves are now 14-3 in first place while the Saints are one of two teams locked on with a 5-11 record so any win is vital to them, and they can get back to those ways and try again against Williamstown this weekend.
Bonbeach Bluejays 6 v Preston Pirates 16
The Pirates were out to a 11-run lead as the sixth inning got underway, made possible by a seven-run inning in the fifth.
Bonbeach took one back in the sixth before starting to get on a roll in the seventh with five. But the experience from the Pirates proved otherwise when they were able to score five of their own at the bottom to end the game.
Preston relied on the pitching efforts of Ben Donnell, Nick Pascuzzi and Glenn Farrell to get the job done. Donnell started, throwing six innings with one earned run allowed and 11 strikeouts, giving the Pirates the chance to do what they needed offensively. "As a team we collected 17 hits, which was a great way to come back after the Christmas break with a solid team effort," said Cam Deeble, Preston's Head Coach. "If we can continue to work hard on the fundamentals at training and capitalise on our opportunities hopefully we'll continue to see results on the field."
Mitch Legge continued his great year with the bat, picking up another three hits while Jean David Alvarado went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Jaycob Pascuzzi was solid behind the dish for Preston as well.
Mitch Legge continued his great year with the bat, picking up another three hits while Jean David Alvarado went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Jaycob Pascuzzi was solid behind the dish for Preston as well.
For Bonbeach Adam Major threw 4.1 innings, while Jim Crowe handled 1.2 and Mitchell Sheldon-Collins came in for an inning. Matthew Bucci had two singles and a double, while Crowe knocked in a run along with Dylan Eldridge. Kaelan Green had two RBIs in his first appearance for Bonbeach this season as Ronin Green and Sheldon-Collins singled.
The Bluejays are without a win this season but have shown they can get a big innings in so will be hoping to replicate that this weekend against Preston who sit fifth with a 9-7 record.
Werribee Giants 10 v Mulgrave Rebels 5
Werribee scored first in the fourth before Mulgrave got on a roll throughout the following three innings as the Rebels took a 4-1 lead after the sixth.
The Giants were down but not out as they went through their lineup to record nine runs at the top of the seventh, and as a result Mulgrave couldn't catch up, just scoring one more in the eighth.
"Highlights for us were another solid start from Wes De Jong and Reece Haywood and Andrew Maki with the bat off the bench," said John Curnow, Werribee's Head Coach. "Justin Gil doing a great job catching the game and picking up two hits along with keeping the team focused on the job all day. We need to keep our offence firing and play solid defence."
De Jong threw 4.2 innings, giving up four runs - two of them earned - with 10 hits and three strikeouts. Joshua Lee got the win, giving up just one run in 15 batters faced across 3.1 innings and also recording two RBIs with a single and a walk at the plate. Wade Balzer had a single and a double, while Justin Gil singled and tripled. Andrew Christou and Daine Gregory knocked in a run as Reece Haywood had two singles and two RBIs in his first game with the top nine this season.
Andrew Maki had three RBIs on a bases-clearing double and Evan McPherson had a pair of hits to keep things moving smoothly for Werribee.
The Giants have won their 13th game of the season and fourth in a row to sit comfortably in second place, two wins clear of third. Mulgrave is 5-11 but still have plenty of chances to make a bolt to the playoff picture.
Malvern Braves v Moorabbin Panthers - WASHOUT
Port Melbourne Mariners v Doncaster Dragons - WASHOUT
Malvern Braves v Moorabbin Panthers - WASHOUT
Port Melbourne Mariners v Doncaster Dragons - WASHOUT
Division 2 Reserves - Round 14
Williamstown Wolves 1 v St Kilda Saints 5
The Wolves went down to St Kilda, it being their third loss of the season after being on a four-game winning streak since the last loss.
However, the Wolves have still managed to maintain their first place position with an 11-3 record, the same as Moorabbin. They'll have to be on their game this week against the Saints, as will the away side who sit fourth with a 9-6 record.
Bonbeach Bluejays 5 v Preston Pirates 14
Bonbeach lead 2-1 going into the bottom of the second however, the Preston second dig saw 10 runs cross the plate as they grew an unassailable lead.
The Bluejays pressed regularly but only saw another three runners score in the following three innings as Preston had three come home in the fourth.
The Pirates are 5-8-1 for the season in seventh while Bonbeach are 1-14, however both teams will still want to battle it out for their own reasons when they meet again this weekend.
Malvern Braves 2 v Moorabbin Panthers 6
Despite being down 3-0 after the third, Malvern stayed in the game with two runs at the top of the fourth, but that was unfortunately it for them.
Moorabbin added three more runs to take the game away from the Braves as they improved to an 11-3 record, now two games clear of the Braves. Malvern isn't that far behind in third place are 9-4-1 but it makes this weekend's return fixture all the more enticing to both sides.
Port Melbourne Mariners 0 v Doncaster Dragons 5
The Dragons got the shutout over Port Melbourne to record their eighth win of the season, keeping them in touch with the top four, in fifth place.
It's the Dragons sixth win in a row and they'll be wanting to make that seven against the 5-9 Mariners this weekend.
Werribee Giants 6 v Mulgrave Rebels 5
Mulgrave almost pulled off an amazing comeback but fell one run short of a draw as they fought from being 6-1 down in the seventh.
The Rebels scored four runs as the game was coming to an end after Werribee provided some damage early on, going towards a 5-0 lead after their third turn at bat.
The Giants are 6-6-2 for the season, a few wins out from the top four, while Mulgrave head into this week's games with a 4-10 record but could easily win a few more in the coming weeks.
Doncaster Dragons 6 v Port Melbourne Mariners 3
The Dragons won the game they needed to over Port Melbourne as they confirm their spot in the top three, sitting well with a 9-4-1 record with six wins in a row, looking to add another against Preston this weekend.
The Mariners, while on the bottom end of the ladder with a 3-11 record, are close to gaining a few spots and will start again at home this weekend to St Kilda, trying to avoid their seventh loss in a row.
St Kilda Saints 3 v Williamstown Wolves 1
The Saints gained their three runs of the game with one in the first and two in the second with Williamstown proving well defensively from then on.
Unfortuantely for the Wolves, while they shut the Saints down for the remaining four innings, they just managed one run for themselves in the third.
Williamstown remains locked into the top four at 9-5 before playing Bonbeach this weekend, but St Kilda is close behind with an 8-6 record ahead of a clash with Port Melbourne.
Preston Pirates 16 v Bonbeach Bluejays 5
The Bluejays were leaders 2-1 after the first, but it was Preston who held a lead for the remainder of the game, after scoring two in the second.
The crux of the Pirates score came from the third and fourth innings where they collected five and eight respectively when the Bluejays scored one and two in their respective innings also.
Preston is in the middle of the table in sixth with a 6-7-1 record ahead of playing Doncaster while Bonbeach is 1-13 and hoping another win comes against Williamstown this weekend.
Werribee Giants 0 v Mulgrave Rebels 11
The Rebels shut out the Giants in an impressive performance to record their fourth win of the season and in doing so, jump ahead of their opponents on the ladder.
Three of those Rebels wins have come from the past three games as they make a bolt in a crucial part of the season where positions are still up for grabs. Right now, they sit seventh with a 4-8-2 record before coming up against Malvern this week.
Werribee has lost five in a row now as they've slumped from fifth to eighth to be 4-10 after this round. The Giants will hope to get back to winning ways but will have to overcome the always hot Moorabbin.
Moorabbin Panthers v Malvern Braves - WASHOUT
Division 2 Fourths - Round 14
Doncaster Dragons 7 v Geelong Baycats 8
Doncaster scored two early runs in the first innings to start this encounter but Geelong jumped out of the blocks with five runs in reply as the Baycats batted through the order. The Baycats were kept scoreless in the next two innings where Doncaster were able to get a couple of runs back.
Daniel Dobbie performed well on the mound for Geelong as the Dragons players struggled to find a true and proper way to get on top.
The bats were swinging for the Baycats too, especially the last play of the day: an in-the-park grand slam for Harry Sim.
Geelong sits in fifth place with a 7-7-1 record but the Baycats aren't far behind entering the top four and will be hopeful of being there after this weekend's game against St Kilda. Doncaster will play Preston next round, looking to improve on their 5-8 record, especially as they were on a winning streak prior to this game.
St Kilda Saints 8 v Williamstown Wolves 8
The Saints have proved tough competitors for the Wolves in the last two weeks of competition, beating them in the final round of 2019 and now coming away with a draw.
A laregly similar scorecard from both teams as the home side regularly countered their opposition, but couldn't drive in that decisive run at the bottom of the sixth.
The highlight of this game was each team scoring five runs in the third inning, again, no team letting the other get away too easily.
The Wolves are still nestled on top with a 12-1-1 record and will be having some reflections with the bye this week. St Kilda will face Geelong away next week as they look to continue their red hot form, being third with an 8-3-1 record.
Moorabbin Panthers 1 v Malvern Braves 9
Malvern grew their lead in increments of two across the first two innings before Morrabbin scored their one and only in the third.
A further two runs to the Braves in the third saw them take a 6-1 lead which kept for most of the rest of the game, until Malvern again popped up on the scoreboard with three in the sixth, while the Panthers never added to their tally.
The Braves have come to be 10-2 after Round 14 and sit in second place ahead of a match against Mulgrave while Moorabbin play Werribee, hoping they don't slip from their 6-5-1 fourth spot.
Preston Pirates v BYE